Swansea City's defensive picture is set to change significantly this summer.
Chief executive Julian Winter recently stated that two centre-backs and a right wing-back were at the top of the club's transfer wish list. It comes after Cyrus Christie's loan spell at SA1 came to an end while Ryan Bennett has also been told he can move on. You can read the full story on Bennett here.
Russell Martin used a vast number of combinations at the back in his debut campaign with the Swans but is eager to add defenders who possess a real physical presence as well as athleticism, with MK Dons man and transfer target Harry Darling fitting the bill in that regard.
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Indeed, the lack of height in the squad significantly hampered Swansea's efforts from set plays last term, with Martin's men scoring just twice from non-penalty dead-ball situations across their 46 Championship fixtures, which was comfortably the lowest return in the division. The head coach has opened up on the coaching staff's post-season debrief and how they can improve ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
"We sat down as a group of staff at the end of the season, like a post-mortem really," he told the club's official media channel. "We do pre-mortems throughout the season on what could hurt us, what could be a problem, what we're doing well, but to sit down at the end of the season and have that detailed discussion about where we can improve, there were some really key points and key areas where we definitely feel we can improve in what we do, the process day in, day out. If we can improve those areas and improve them well, I think it'll make a big difference to us.
"I think set-pieces are a really obvious one. You look at Huddersfield, I think they scored 21 set-piece goals and they're in the play-offs. I think we scored the third-most open play goals in the league, the most with the goalkeeper starting with the ball at his feet, which is brilliant, it shows how much work they've put on the training pitch.
"Defensive set-pieces were pretty good, but attacking set-pieces, we only scored two. If you look at Fulham, I think they scored the most. That is a really clear and key area for us. We haven't got the biggest team in terms of presence and height, and that's something that we'll address but it's also down to us to put more focus on the players and do more work."
Christie has been released by Fulham and recently admitted he would "love" to return to the Swansea.com Stadium. However, the club have to raise funds through player departures before they can hit full throttle when it comes to their pursuit of targets.
The same applies to midfielder Joe Allen who, like Christie, has a number of options on the table. As for the current defensive situation, Kyle Naughton is set to remain at the club for the duration of Martin's second season with Swansea having signed a one-year contract extension in April.
Ryan Manning, Joel Latibeaudiere and Ben Cabango are all under contract while Brandon Cooper could be loaned out once again when he fully recovers from the knee injury that brought a premature end to his loan stint with Swindon Town.
As for the left side of the defence, Nathanael Ogbeta could be given a more prominent role next season should Hannes Wolf not return from Borussia Mönchengladbach while Lincoln Mcfayden has impressed at Under-23 level.
